United Is Devaluing Their Brand and Most Loyal Customers |
Showing posts with label United. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United. Show all posts
Saturday, August 25, 2012
United Degrading Lifetime Benefits
As recently as 9 months ago, United Airlines gave lifetime Red Carpet club access to two million mile flyers. Now they give an iPod or a golf club. Lifetime 1K is gone and replaced with lifetime Premier Platinum. My Dad was about 125,000 miles short of the two million mark when the merger happened and missed out big time. He had his sights set on lifetime lounge membership.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Status Qualification Strategy Time
If you haven’t thought about it already, you should start
planning out your status qualification strategy. With five months left in the year, you are
quickly running out of time if you are trending below your goals. Also, with this much of a heads up, you may
be able to grab a good deal on some flights or hotels stays to top off your
numbers (use ITA Matrix and try to force extra connections).
Hotels are not looking so good though. I have given up on Priority Club status all
together because of their recent award chart devaluation and my lack of hotel
activity (7/60th of the way to Platinum and 7/20th to
Gold both on points earned, it’s not happening). I am
safe at Hilton Silver because I have their Amex, but Gold is too far out of reach to
bother. Starwood Preferred Guest is my favorite program and I
will pull out all the stops to keep Platinum.
Right now I have 19 of my 25 needed stays booked or completed. This leaves me with 6 stays in 5 months, not
unreasonable, but it will be a stretch.
I have been bouncing hotels all year to increase my stay count without
needing more nights. I may be able to
grab another three stays from work travel, but the last three may come out of
my pocket. Not insurmountable, but the
$40 / night Four Points by me closed, so it may get expensive to make
Platinum. It’s still better than
finishing the year at a pathetic 23 nights.
United Express ERJ-145 at MLI |
I’m doing fine for United 1K status this year. Flown and booked trips total about 96,000 EQM
(elite qualifying miles), so I just need one or two work trips to close the gap
and I am set. I did my United mileage
math in June and booked two mileage run trips to SJU to make sure I get to
where work travel can close the gap.
W South Beach Miami Room Upgrade |
Labels:
Hilton,
Priority Club,
SPG,
SPG American Express,
Status,
United
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Air Canada to Europe - A319 & 767
A friend from high school called me up late last month
wondering if we could do a trip overseas in July. My schedule had some flexibility to it so I
started finding trips we could do on United MileagePlus miles. We were able to settle on Barcelona, Vienna,
and a half day in London for 60,000 miles; a very good deal.
Air Canada A319 at Denver |
The first leg of the journey was from Denver to Toronto to
Barcelona. My friend was originating in
Chicago and we planned to meet at the international Maple Leaf Lounge in Toronto. I was flying an A319 to Toronto connecting to
a Boeing 767 to Barcelona.
The Airbus part of my flight was great. There was plenty of leg room and a FREE video on demand
entertainment system. The system has a
great collection of new and classic movies, along with games, a map, and music. I watched The Good, the Bad, and The
Ugly. It happened to finish just as we
were landing and made the flight go very quickly.
Air Canada's Free Video On Demand |
The service was friendly too. The lead flight attendant looked like a
jovial lumber jack that could be in tourism commercials. I also got a kick out of the bilingual
announcements, as required by law, not the makeup of the passengers.
After landing it was a quick walk to the transfers desk,
stamp in the passport, and a quick walk to the lounge. To speed the trip, Toronto Pearson Airport
has moving walkways that go faster in the middle than at the ends. It was my first time using them and it was
fun to see the clever solution to an engineering puzzle.
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge YYZ Bar |
The Maple Leaf Lounge is on the second level (my friend
walked right by it and spent a while looking for me on the departures level) of
the international terminal. This is
their flagship lounge and it has plenty of seating broken up into different
areas so noise doesn’t travel and to give a more private feel. It also has free wifi, conference rooms, showers,
a business center, and of course self-serve bar and hearty snacks. The drink spread was very good, but the food
was superb. Air Canada’s lounges have
some very good soup offerings and this was no different. There was also some very tasty pasta
available that reminded me of grandma's.
I left briefly to find my friend and check out the duty free
prices. We were able to locate each
other and went to the lounge for a pre-departure toast to our trip. Our flight had a maintenance delay, so we
were able to make a few more toasts before departure. The aircraft for the trip to BCN was a 767
that Air Canada had not converted to the new business class and video on demand
in coach. The seats also were not very
comfortable, so before we pushed back, I knew I was in for a long trip.
Leg Room in Coach on 767, Where's the TV? |
The meal service started soon after takeoff and I enjoyed a
very tasty chicken dish. The brownie was also very good. Soon after dinner, I tried to sleep. It didn’t go well. I went to the back of the plane to see if any
sets of 3 seats were open to lay down on, but enough people already had that
idea and I was out of luck. I wound up
taking a set of two free seats, built a pillow fort, and tried to fall
asleep. I don’t know why, but nothing
worked. I might have been out for 30
minutes tops. After a seemingly endless
struggle, I spotted land (Spain looks like the American southwest from the air) and we started our approach. Landing took us over a few sights and we
quickly taxied to the gate, so fast that the crew hadn’t finished the French
version of the announcement. I was soon
off the plane, not rested at all, but excited to experience Barcelona.
Tasty Chicken Dinner on Air Canada 767 |
Labels:
767,
A319,
Air Canada,
Airbus,
Boeing,
MileagePlus,
United
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Quad City International Airport - MLI
I missed my connection in Moline, IL and I'm stuck here for 5 hours. At least I have have a good view. Too bad there aren't any flights for a while.
MLI View from B10 |
Thursday, July 12, 2012
United Orders New 737's
United ordered (full press release here) 100 of Boeing's new fuel efficient 737 MAX airplanes to start updating the current fleet. Deliveries will begin in a few years. United also ordered 50 737-900ER jets to replace some 757's in the fleet with deliveries starting next year. This is a good move for United to lower operating costs and I bet they got a great price on the planes because Boeing is hurting for narrow body orders. I prefer the Airbus interior so I'm not jumping for joy on this move. Also the 757 has 4 more first class seats than the 737-900ER and boarding is done through the middle door, so first class has a very private feel.
Strange that this was not announced at the Farnborough Air Show going on right now. Airbus loves to announce orders at airshows to show off in front of the press. Boeing prefers to announce orders as they come, but the timing and order size would make this an air show highlight. Maybe a missed opportunity by United and Boeing.
United 737 MAX, photo from United Airlines |
Friday, June 29, 2012
Southwest Attacks Frontier in Denver
Now that Southwest / AirTran has won the battle with Frontier in Milwaukee, the next battle will be fought in Denver. And it appears Southwest is looking to win
the war in Denver by poaching Frontier’s most valuable customers. I, like most other Rapid Reward members in
Colorado I suspect, got this email today:
“We have an exciting opportunity for Colorado Rapid Rewards
Members who have tier membership in Frontier EarlyReturns®! From now through August 31, 2012,
EarlyReturns Ascent or Summit members can get complimentary Rapid Rewards
A-List Membership! And as an added
bonus, we'll even give you complimentary AirTran Airways® A+ Rewards® Elite
status. That means you can gain elite
status in two frequent flier programs!”
Southwest Status Match Offer |
Southwest wants to eliminate competitors. That’s why they purchased AirTran and are dismantling
it. Next on their list is Frontier, an
airline without a strategy or deep pockets.
It is an easy target. Southwest
doesn’t want to agitate United in Denver because UA will go broke to defend the
Denver hub and the airline’s customers don’t overlap well. Frontier can’t afford competition and their
low cost customers can very easily become Southwest’s. Look for Frontier to return fire; they can
hold off Southwest in the short term, but are doomed if Southwest lays siege to
Denver.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Heineken Slushy - United First Class Drink
The Heineken Slushy is an off menu drink item for United Airlines first class customers. It's a frozen can of Heineken that comes out in a slushy consistency. United puts their beer on top of the ice in the catering carts and if the beer sits there long enough, you get a Heineken slushy. I've only had these as pre-departure drinks and only with Heineken. Some passengers may find it a nuisance, but I like the humor of it.
United Airlines' Heineken Slushy, Off Menu |
Friday, June 8, 2012
United Airlines A319 First Class Lunch / Dinner
Even the flight attendants are excited about the shrimp
salad. It’s also the most consistent
offering for lunch or dinner, so you won’t be surprised like with strange looking wraps. I was flying from John Wayne to Denver around lunch on a United Airbus A319.
The first class lunch offerings on the two hour flight were a warm wrap or a cold
shrimp salad, both came with soup. I
went for the salad. It has six peeled shrimp
on a large collection of lettuce and other salad parts. It is a filling portion size and fairly colorful
and diverse. It came with two vinaigrette
dressing cups, croutons, small side of fruit, roll, and a delicious gumbo
soup. United’s soup is superb and the
gumbo, Cajun something at least, is the best yet.
United Airlines First Shrimp Salad Lunch |
The flight was fairly bumpy once we got over Colorado. The crew made a quick and friendly service in
the 8 person first class cabin. Once the
turbulence started, everyone took their seats and buckled in tight. We also had an aborted landing due to
unfavorable winds. On the glide in, the
engines suddenly wound up and we gained altitude and made a 90 degree turn. We landed on the second try and the cabin
applauded (this was more unsettling for me than the textbook go around just
executed). The cockpit crew explained
what happened once we pulled onto the taxi way and made this irregular
operation seem commonplace. The
professionalism of United’s pilots is second to none.
Monday, June 4, 2012
What is a Point or Mile Worth?
What is a point / mile worth?
It’s a simple question with a complex answer. A mile or point in every program will have a
different value too. Also, miles might
not have any value until a certain number are collected. Ultimately the value is different for each
person, but here are my answers and how I got to them.
United – 1.75c
Jets Lined Up at FRA |
Miles and points are a currency that can be exchanged for
goods and services. These goods can also
be purchased for cash, making it a simple equation: Total Value / Total Points
= $x.xx per point. If a flight to Europe
is $1,000 or 50,000 miles, then each mile is worth 2c. The denominator will always be known, but the
numerator gets fuzzy when you are buying awards that you would never buy with
cash. A first class trip to Europe costs
$13,000 or 135,000 miles; yielding almost 10c per mile in value! But I would never pay $13,000 to fly to
Europe, so what is it really worth?
Priceless is the best answer, but it doesn’t help with the math. I just total the perceived value of the experience
and that’s the value. The means a first
class award is more like 3-6c in value; still a good deal.
Do the math for yourself and use your answers to decide if
to spend miles or cash. For example, I
would use miles to book a $450 domestic round trip, but use cash for a $300
ticket. It’s a gray area for borderline redemptions. I’ll lower my threshold if my balance still
has a large number of miles. Also, if
your credit card doesn’t earn at least 2c in value for every dollar spent, just
use the fee free Fidelity Amex. It has 2% cash back on every purchase and cash
is accepted by any airline.
Sun Rise at ORD |
SPG – 3c
Starwood Hotel (SPG) points are my favorite. With the Cash & Points redemption option,
SPG points are consistently worth about 4c each, while full points awards run
2-3c. The SPG Amex (business card has the
better sign up bonus) earns one point per dollar and two points for spending at
SPG hotels. Points can also be transferred
to about 30 airline programs with a 25% bonus for every 20,000 points transferred. This makes the SPG card better for earning
American or Delta miles than the airlines’ own credit cards. SPG is my favorite program and currency because
of its high value and flexibility.
W South Beach Miami Hotel View |
Drawbacks: There aren’t SPG hotels everywhere and the top
level hotels cost too many points to have any value. The cobranded credit card is an Amex and not
everyone takes those (like my local liquor store). Mile awards with United and Southwest are
poor value.
Minimum balance of 4,000 needed to achieve top value.
United miles are the best in the air. They are part of the Star Alliance (25
airlines and growing) and have a few other strategic alliances for miles
redemption (Aer Lingus has great availability to Europe). Their reservations people are very good and
the website can be used to find and book complicated award trips.
Minimum balance of 12,500 needed to achieve decent value.
United Airlines Jets at EWR Sunrise |
American – 1.5c
American is a oneworld partner and doesn’t charge excessive
fuel surcharges on awards. They allow
one way bookings and have a decent award chart.
American availability, coach and first, to most places not over the
Atlantic, is second to none. Good off
season discounts and a cheap oneworld partner chart (80,000 miles in first
London to Australia). oneworld coverage
is spotty and fuel surcharges pop up on European carriers.
Minimum balance of 12,500 needed to achieve decent value.
Delta – 1c
Delta has a three tier award chart and every time I want to
redeem, my flight is in the second or third tier, destroying the value of my
miles. They are a Sky Team partner and
Virgin Australia partner, so It’s best to redeem miles with Air France/KLM or
Virgin Australia. I wound up cashing in
my miles for Economist subscriptions, 3,200 for a year or 3c in value. Not bad considering my options.
Minimum balance of 25,000 needed to achieve decent value or
3,200 for a year of The Economist.
Not Every Trip Is Glamours |
Alaska Airlines – 1.6c
I credit my Delta and American flights to Alaska. Alaska isn't part of an alliance, but are
partners with most airlines you would want to fly not in the Star Alliance. The award chart is downright cheap in places
too. The flexible earning and redeeming
of miles makes Alaska a great program to have miles in. One ways are allowed and there is a cash and
points option. Partner awards have to be
a single carrier plus Alaska to get you to the gateway city. Not Star Alliance good, but close. Other than flights and credit card spend (not
a good deal), it’s hard to earn miles with them (SPG transfers mostly).
Minimum balance of 12,500 needed to achieve decent value.
US Airways – 1.7c
Star Alliance member with a reasonable award chart (more
reasonable than UA to Asia in business).
Only allow round trips. Can’t
book partner awards online, so be prepared for an hour long call with reservations. Great deals on off peak
awards. The Mileathon promotion runs
annually and is a great way to stock up on miles. US Airways also runs frequent mileage purchase promotions. I constantly fear award
chart devaluation.
Minimum balance of 25,000 needed to achieve good value.
BA is great for short one segment trips on American or LAN. BA has a distance based award chart, allows
one ways, and has partner booking online. For long flights (less generous
pricing), connections (each segment is charged, not total distance), premium
cabins (x2 for business, x3 for first), or trips in Europe (steep fuel charges)
don’t bother. Good deals are found
mostly in the America’s. The scary high fuel charges take the value out of any BA, Iberia, of Finnair award.
Minimum balance of 4,500 needed to achieve decent value.
Other Carriers – 0-10c
Southwest will sell any seat at 60 points per dollar so they
have a fixed value of 1.67c per point (not bad really). Other airline programs can be anywhere. My Frontier miles might only be good for a
magazine subscription. Foreign carriers
could have no value or tons of value, depending on if you need to use those
airlines. If you are going somewhere only Emirates flies, then those miles will be worth much more. It’s too subjective for me to
give a definitive value.
Southwest and US Airways Jets at ABQ |
Labels:
Alaska Airlines,
American,
British Airways,
Chase Freedom,
credit cards,
Delta,
dividend miles,
JP Morgan Palladium card,
Southwest,
SPG,
SPG American Express,
Travel Tips,
United,
US Airways
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
$60 Off a Lufthansa Flight
My colleague Justin sent me a link for $60 off a Lufthansa flight. It's good for travel from August 12 to September 12 and must be redeemed by the end of May. Good on Lufthansa and their code share partners United, Air Canada, and Austrian. Travel must originate in the USA.
Lufthansa A319 at FRA |
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Star Alliance Transfer Passenger Survey at EWR
The Star Alliance wants to know about your international
transfer experience. They are not
interested in anything else (at least at the moment). The Star Alliance has been trying to simplify
global travel for passengers on member airlines for the last 15 years and they
have become very good at it (long queues at LHR aside). It’s a good sign that they are collecting
passenger feedback about the process. The questions were all multiple choice for international transit customers. An interesting find at EWR; way better than the Met store clearance table.
Star Alliance Survey Machine |
Star Alliance Survey Display |
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Why Fear of Overbooking?
The Sydney Morning Herald (I’ve been hooked on it since
first reading it in Sydney) has one of the best travel sections in the world;
much better than travel magazines or the NYT.
I enjoy taking a read though their articles and sometimes browsing
reader comments (unlike any story remotely political, there is some decent
information to glean). One story talked
about how Southwest doesn’t suck as much as other US carriers. I disagree, but will save that for a later
time. The interesting bit was the comments. There was an engaging discussion on which
US airlines frequently bump passengers and suggestions to avoid them.
US Airways A321 Spending the Night at PHX |
Why are people so afraid of bumping? I understand the obvious, missing the flight
and having travel plans thrown in a blender, but it shouldn’t be a large enough
concern to avoid airlines that do it frequently (they all do it to some
extent). Also, flight delays or cancellations happen, so it is best to add some padding to travel planning if that were to
happen (always fly in the day before your cruise ship departs). This padding will also help
mitigate the impact of an involuntary displaced boarding (IDB or bump).
United Jets at EWR |
Bumping can be very lucrative if travel plans are made with
padding. United offers $400 in travel
vouches for volunteering for a bump; US Airways gave me $250 for a 90 minute delay.
They will rebook you, sometimes in paid first (bonus miles), provide a
meal voucher if the delay is long enough, and buy a hotel room if it is an
overnight delay (Westin LAX for me).
These vouchers can add up to several thousand dollars in value if you
are bumped several times in a year.
Other airlines provide different amounts of compensation, but they all
make it worth your while to take the later flight. Bumps can be a great way to extend your travel budget and add variety
to routine flying.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Even United Knew I was Flying for Miles
I flew DEN-PHX-CLT-SJU-CLT-DEN without leaving the airport. I found a $275 fare and jumped on a plane to fly just for the miles. United even saw that; rather than saying I had a round trip to San Juan, my reservation was labeled as Denver to Denver. I found it funny.
Flying for the miles |
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Chase Sapphire Credit Card Review
I use a collection of credit cards to maximize rewards from everyday spending. I have a Citi Forward card because it earns
5% back (in gift card form) on restaurant spending. I have a gold American Express that earns 3
times points on airfare and the SPG Business Amex that gives me 2 times points
on Starwood hotels and Open Savings.
Then I need a card that rewards me for all my other spending.
My standby card is the Fidelity Amex that earns 2% on all
purchases and has no annual fee. My JPMorgan Palladium card earns 2 times points on travel spend, but that is limited
to non-SPG hotels since all my other travel spend is taken by other cards. I decided to try out the Chase Sapphire card
with a 50,000 point sign up bonus (now only 40,000). It earns 2 times points on travel spend and is
otherwise uninteresting. The card is not
made out of plastic, but it is not gold so I’m not too impressed. It’s a decent earner and with a much lower
annual fee than the Gold Amex or Palladium Visa; it might be my go to card for airfare spending when my free year
with the gold Amex is up.
Ultimate Rewards is Chase’s answer to Membership
Rewards. It has poor redemption value
merchandise and 1:1 miles transfers to Chase affiliated airlines and
hotels (United, Southwest, BA, Marriott, Priority Club, etc.). You can also cash out points at
$0.01 each. It is a decent program and occasionally puts all their merchandise on sale to give you better than $0.01 a
point in value. Point transfers or cash (if you are unimaginative or cash is king) are the best options.
The Sapphire is an ok card that, thanks to the sign up
bonus, is going to be a good earner for me this year. I’m not sure if I will keep it once the
annual fee kicks in. The Fidelity card
is almost too good a value for everyday purchases.
Labels:
British Airways,
Priority Club,
Southwest,
SPG American Express,
United
Friday, April 13, 2012
United Airlines Domestic First Class Lunch
Soup's on! The soup on
United Airlines was the only redeemable quality of the in flight meal experience in First
class on my flight that day. I took an A320 from LGA to DEN
and had the choice between a cold chicken salad and a warm wrap. I went with the wrap, my seatmate had the salad. Both wound up looking gross. It was edible, but I wouldn’t recommend it on the ground. The soup served was a cream of
something and very good. The cookie was
an oatmeal raisin and I passed. It’s
hard to screw up fruit and United didn’t mess it up. The roll was ok too. It turned out to be filling and a great excuse to load up on wine, so the meal wasn't that bad. Lufthansa and other European carriers do a much better job with catering, even on 90 minute flights.
United Airlines Domestic First Class Meal A320 |
United food isn’t always awful; there was a cold pasta and
chicken meal on red eye flights last year that was great, even by on the ground standards. Here is a fun picture from take off. I took some cool pictures and had a nap, so the flight wasn't a total disappointment.
Taking off from LGA, United A320 First Class |
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Travel Tip – Good Day Trip Ideas
Sometimes you need a few more miles for the next status
tier, other times you just want a mini-vacation, day trips are great
solutions. Instead of going on a two day
cross country trek for miles, a little hop somewhere can do the job just
as well; you can’t claim to experience a city just by their airport. Here are a
few cities that make great day trip material.
San Jose (SJC) – I really like San Jose, the airport is short
cab ride to downtown, walkable once you get there. While in town, I recommend the Technology
Museum; it has really interesting stuff like a robot that draws your picture
and computer chip making equipment. There
are also a few good places to grab a bite in the area too. The weather is usually outstanding too.
San Antonio (SAT) – San Antonio usually has cheap fares and
is a very easy city to tour. The airport
is about 15 minutes by cab from the Alamo (free tours). From there, take a stroll on the river walk
and grab a bite at one of the many restaurants along the river. The boat rides are cheap and fun too. It can get hot in the summer, but you don’t
feel it that much by the river.
Boston (BOS) – Take the T (subway) into town for $2. It’s maybe a 20 minute ride to get to Boston
Common. Boston has a few sights all
within a short stroll, like the capital building, old cemeteries, and other
historic buildings. There is also a
lovely park along the Charles River for a stroll. Another quick hop on the T and you are back
at the airport. BOS is also a nice airport to chill in if you have a connection, free (and fast) wifi, good views, and a nice terminal for Continental, US Airways, and Delta. The United, jetBlue, and American terminals are difficult to spend time in.
United Airlines 757 at SFO |
San Jose Tech Museum |
San Francisco (SFO) – San Francisco
has a lot to offer, Alcatraz tours (book in advance), great sea food, In-N-Out,
sights, the water front, and the trollies.
All of this is a (expensive for public transit) BART ride from the
airport. Very easy to day trip, but the
BART is a little long, so allow extra time. SFO isn't the most predictable airport, inconsistent security wait times and fog regularly causes delays. There are usually cheap transcon flights, so it's worth a shot.
San Francisco Sights |
Labels:
Advice,
American,
Continental,
Delta,
jetBlue,
Travel Tips,
United,
US Airways
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Around the World with US Airways Dividend Miles – Award Booking Tips
US Airways will let you fly around the world for 120,000
miles in First, 90,000 in Business, and 60,000 in coach. The award is just their basic North America
to Northern Asia, but you are allowed to route via the Atlantic and the
Pacific. You also get a free stopover
(stay longer than 24 hours) in a Star Alliance hub along the way, or somewhat
out of the way. Complete Dividend Miles
rules are here. I was able to book from Denver to Tokyo with
a stopover in Helsinki with all segments in business class.
The first step in booking is to find the flights. I have some time off from class in summer,
wanted to go somewhere new in Scandinavia, and see Japan. Narrowing down the possible destinations will
shorten the search process and focus your attention. I found the list of Star Alliance hubs and
started looking for flights.
The two best search tools are United.com and fly-ana.com (you need to join Mileage Club to search). I start with United and use ANA only if I’m stuck. United has a much simpler interface and shows more routings. When searching on United, make sure that you are only looking at Star Alliance airlines, Aer Lingus will show in United results, but can’t be booked through US Airways. If Aer Lingus or other airlines outside the Star Alliance keep filling the search results, switch to ANA.
The best way to build a trip is segment by segment; being
too ambitious can overwhelm the search engine.
First open a spreadsheet to track all the available flights and see all the options in one place.
From there start searching for the beginning and ending flights,
NRT-DEN and DEN-European gateway city.
Flying from Japan, I wanted a lay flat bed, ANA preferred over Asiana
over United. I found several options on
ANA’s new 777-300s, a pair on Asiana, and a lot on United. To Europe I preferred Swiss (flat bed) over
Lufthansa (angled) over SAS (angled) over United (flat). I’ve flown United business class, the seat is
very good, but the service and food are awful.
There were a few Lufthansa and SAS flights available, so things are
looking up. Intra-Europe connections are
plentiful and have great availability if going to capital cities. The more out of the way, the harder it is to
find flights (Berlin easy, Mehamn, Norway rather difficult).
I found the flights I wanted and then reran the searches
segment by segment before I called US Airways.
This was important because my A380 seat from FRA disappeared, so I had
to find a replacement. Luckily an
A340-600 out of MUC had space and I could find a flight from Helsinki to
Munich.
My next call lasted 75 minutes and at least 60 of those were
spent on hold. I still had a positive
experience thanks to the very bubbly and excited agent I spoke with. She was new, so the US Airways culture hasn’t
sunk in yet. She quickly found my
reservation, I explained what I was trying to book, she validated that it looked
right to her, and then got on the line with the rate desk where things got
weird.
She returned excited and told me that my original itinerary with a stop in Helsinki was validated and priced out to $130. I jumped with joy, gave her my Amex number, she booked the ticket, gave me a confirmation number, and we parted ways.
Star Alliance Air Canada Jet |
The two best search tools are United.com and fly-ana.com (you need to join Mileage Club to search). I start with United and use ANA only if I’m stuck. United has a much simpler interface and shows more routings. When searching on United, make sure that you are only looking at Star Alliance airlines, Aer Lingus will show in United results, but can’t be booked through US Airways. If Aer Lingus or other airlines outside the Star Alliance keep filling the search results, switch to ANA.
Lufthansa 747 |
Once the bookend flights are found, it is much simpler to find the middle flights (dates and connecting cities are limited). Through sheer force of clicking, I found several options to
stop in Geneva, Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki.
Getting from Europe to Japan had very limited availability. I did not want to fly Edelweiss Air (Swiss’
low cost airline with poor seats and bad service) or Air China (subpar seats
and an evening arrival). Lufthansa had a
few flights, Austrian had one, and Turkish Airways had a lot from IST-NRT (but
almost no options from my stopover cities to IST). The date and timing has me on Lufthansa; I
would prefer Austrian or Swiss, but the availability didn’t permit it.
US Airways, Making This Trip Possible |
The reservation I had planned, DEN-FRA-HEL-MUC-NRT-LAX-DEN,
met the rules and the flights were available.
US Airways agents don’t consistently interpret the rules. If the agent says NO, just apologize, say you
need to reevaluate the trip, hang up, and try again later. I called to make the reservation and things
started well. I reached an agent
quickly, gave her the flights one at a time, all were found, and the agent
thought the reservation looked good.
Next the agent has to contact the rate desk to validate and price. I was on hold, so didn’t hear what was
discussed. The agent came back and said
I had to spend less than 24 hours in Tokyo or I couldn’t book the ticket. I said I would re-plan off the phone and call
back later. I thanked her for her time,
asked to have the reservation placed on hold (she did, thereby saving my
flights and making it easier the next call).
This was a clear misunderstanding of what a stopover is by the rate
desk. To avoid getting the same guy
again, I waited 10 hours before calling back.
United Airlines 737 Collection |
After a few minutes on hold, I was told I could not book my
trip because I was backtracking. To make
a valid reservation, I had to keep going east (my original direction of
travel). After a quick check of Google
Maps, Oslo was my only option between FRA and MUC. I quickly found flights to OSL on United.com,
keeping my long haul segments in place, and she tried the rate desk again.
When my agent came back on the line, she said the rate desk
now said I had to stop in a hub. I
explained both OSL and HEL are hubs for SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System)
according to StarAlliance.com. She
confirmed this and went back to play rate desk lotto.
She returned excited and told me that my original itinerary with a stop in Helsinki was validated and priced out to $130. I jumped with joy, gave her my Amex number, she booked the ticket, gave me a confirmation number, and we parted ways.
The moral of this story is twofold; first find your flights
before calling, second, be patient and persistent.
Update 2/1/15:
US Airways' new oneworld award chart isn't as generous. It's 110,000 miles to North Asia now and 100,000 to Europe. Also oneworld carriers have fuel surcharges (British Airways is the worst) that are added to the price of the award.
Update 2/1/15:
US Airways' new oneworld award chart isn't as generous. It's 110,000 miles to North Asia now and 100,000 to Europe. Also oneworld carriers have fuel surcharges (British Airways is the worst) that are added to the price of the award.
Labels:
ANA,
award booking,
dividend miles,
Lufthansa,
redemption,
Travel Tips,
United,
US Airways
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Travel Tip - United and Mileage Plus Mailing Addresses
Are you missing miles from a flight? Have an extra miles account? Is there an unexplained hole in your balance? Well there’s an address for that: MileagePlus
Service Center, P.O. Box 6120, Rapid City, SD 57709-6120. When something goes wrong with your account
and the people on the phone can’t help you, send a letter to the service
center. I needed to mail in a boarding
pass to them when Continental said I didn’t take a flight segment that I had. My mom had to write there to have her two
accounts combined into one. This is just
for Mileage Plus program items, not a general complaint inbox.
United Airlines A320 Taking Off From Albuquerque |
Service and operational complaints should be
mailed to: Customer Care, United
Airlines, Inc., 900 Grand Plaza Drive NHCCR, Houston, TX 77067-4323. A written letter can make a more powerful impact than the web form complaint.
The United Club, nee President’s Club and Red Carpet Club, can
be reached at: United Club, P.O. Box 4555, Houston, TX, 77210-4555. I recommend sending a letter to complain
about the unpalatable coffee. Loud
customers are the only way a change will be made. While we are making demands, some soup and
finger sandwiches would be nice too.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
United Airlines First Class - 757 Review
Update: Flat bed 757 seat review and 757 Business First to Europe review.
Domestic First class isn’t what it used to be, even just a few years ago, but it still is far better than sitting in economy. I decided it would be fun to compare first class on United 757 against first class on United’s website. A few years ago, Northwest Airlines said that only 14% of people in the domestic first class pays first class fares. United may have a slightly higher percentage (fewer seats than NW), but I would be shocked if the number is over 20%. Since about 80% of first class passengers didn’t pay to sit there, airlines are degrading the first class experience to save money. It’s noticeable and I won’t pay to fly first domestically, but upgrades still create some excitement.
Complimentary DIRECTV® on equipped aircraft (most 90%+ of the 737 fleet). Free live tv is standard on JetBlue, while United charges $4 or $6 in coach. First Class gets it for free and has the same ear buds as in coach.
Domestic First class isn’t what it used to be, even just a few years ago, but it still is far better than sitting in economy. I decided it would be fun to compare first class on United 757 against first class on United’s website. A few years ago, Northwest Airlines said that only 14% of people in the domestic first class pays first class fares. United may have a slightly higher percentage (fewer seats than NW), but I would be shocked if the number is over 20%. Since about 80% of first class passengers didn’t pay to sit there, airlines are degrading the first class experience to save money. It’s noticeable and I won’t pay to fly first domestically, but upgrades still create some excitement.
United Airlines First Class Seat 757 |
Onboard Amenities
Extra-wide leather seats with expanded legroom. The seat is the star of the show. More width, more padding, more recline, and
more leg room. The seat is very
comfortable and something you can count on every flight. There is a wide area between the seats for
drinks and to create a bit of privacy.
Complimentary blankets available onboard for use during your
flight. Not always. Blankets are only found on overnight
flights. The blanket quality took a drop
with the Continental merger too; they are now see through and scratchy. Don’t look for a pillow day or night, those
are gone.
United Airlines First Class Seat 757 Reclined |
Meals and Beverages - (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Post)
Pre-departure beverage service. It’s available only if the flight attendants
want to serve drinks. Continental crews
will 95% of the time, but United ones are closer to 75% of the time. Some crews offer water or OJ, other take
drink orders. You can always ask for
what you want, wine aside (flight crews don’t like opening bottles on the
ground), you should be able to get it.
Complimentary beer, wine, spirits, soft drinks and freshly
brewed coffee. All true. Same drinks as in coach, but the wine comes
in full size bottles. The new United
coffee isn’t very good though and Bailey’s isn’t always onboard to fix the
flavor issues. Drinking contests with
seatmates make the flight go much faster.
Hot towel service.
Towels are provided after takeoff.
I like to wipe down my seating area before the meal service. Towels used to become very dirty after this
process, but now they don’t find as much dirt.
This is my unscientific way to see that United is keeping their planes
much cleaner than in years past.
United Airlines First Class Seat 757 Legroom |
Meal service on flights longer than two hours. I’ve always liked airline food, even the slop
served in coach when I was a kid, so digest this review with that in mind. United flights offer two items, omelet or fruit
plate for breakfast and usually pasta/salad or a sandwich/wrap for lunch and
dinner. Some meals also come with soup,
usually excellent (bad lunch review, good lunch review). A roll or salad is
also sometimes offered. The menu changes
about every month. Desert is a baked on
board cookie. They usually serve a great
chocolate chip cookie, but every once and a while mix it up with oatmeal raisin
or white chocolate cranberry. On flights
less than 2 hours, a snack basket is passed around with nuts, chips, Clif Bars,
and bananas. Not very inspiring,
Lufthansa does a meal service on short flights, United can just as easily.
Entertainment
Audio entertainment with complimentary headsets provided on
aircraft equipped with in-flight entertainment.
Better headsets than in coach, but your own might still be better.
Complimentary DIRECTV® on equipped aircraft (most 90%+ of the 737 fleet). Free live tv is standard on JetBlue, while United charges $4 or $6 in coach. First Class gets it for free and has the same ear buds as in coach.
United Airlines 757 at EWR Sunrise |
Complimentary movies on all flights three hours or longer. This is a standard offering in all
cabins. They did show The Artist on a
recent flight, so not every inflight movie is garbage.
A complimentary copy of Hemispheres magazine. Every seat has a copy, not very special. Hemispheres is a better read than most
inflight magazines though.
Airport arrival and departure
Premier AccessSM check-in, baggage handling, boarding and
security lines (where available). 2 free
checked bags, short line for check in, security, and boarding. All nice perks for flying first.
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